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I closed my mouth.
“Can’t answer the question if you don’t ask me, Duchess.” He lifted his arm and placed it underneath his head as he waited for me to continue.
“If I ask this, this has to stay between us,” I intoned. “I’m invoking the marriage card over the club card.”
His expression hardened. “You can’t play that card until I know what this is about.”
I shook my head. “That’s not how this works.” I made a move to get out of bed, but Bones’ hand shot out to gently clasp my wrist, forcing me to stop.
“All right,” he said. “Marriage card trumps club card. Now tell me what’s on your mind.”
“Have you been fighting in an illegal ring? You’ve come to me several times with raw knuckles and I want to know the truth.”
Bones’ expression didn’t change, nor did he let go of my wrist. “I’m guessing you’re asking that question because you found out about the illegal fighting ring. How?”
I bit my lip.
“Marriage card,” he reminded me.
“Charlie. Charlie told me about it.”
“How did she find out about it?” he asked. Understanding swept across his face. “Savage. Savage told her.”
“He went to her one night. She wouldn’t let him in until he told her the truth.”
“You didn’t ask any of the Old Ladies about this, did you?”
I tugged my wrist from his grasp. “No. I didn’t. I wanted to come to you first.”
He sat up and swiped a hand across his face. “If I tell you the truth, you can’t repeat it. You can’t ask them about it, you can’t say a word. Understand?”
“I understand.”
He paused for a moment and then he said, “There are some brothers who aren’t…content with the direction the club is going. We’re adrenaline junkies. We like danger. Since the club has changed course, some brothers are pissed off. They’re broke and bored, and went from dumping adrenaline and making tons of money to bookkeeping and standing around all day doing nothing. It’s not working for some of us.”
“Us? Are you bored?” When he didn’t reply right away, I sighed. “You’re bored.”
“Bored is the wrong word,” he said. “I’m restless.”
“That’s the same thing as bored.”
“Maybe,” he allowed.
“It’s my fault,” I stated. “I’m the reason you’re bored.”
“What the fuck? No. You’re the least boring thing in my life.” He placed his hand on my thigh. “But you gotta understand. To go from crazy shit with the club to a more stable existence, I’m still trying to find the rhythm of it. My entire life changed. A month ago, I was living in the clubhouse. Now I’m living with my wife. My wife.”
“So, it is about me, a little bit anyway.”
He ran a hand along his jaw, his whiskers rasping against the pad of his thumb. “I know what the club is about. I’ve been a Tarnished Angel for years. I know what that meant. I was committed, every step of the way, every direction. But you’re you, and you live a different life. And for the first time in a long time, I’m thinking it’s not such a bad idea to have a more stable existence.”
“I forget sometimes that we’ve only known each other for a little while,” I said quietly. “It feels like I’ve known you forever.”
I covered his hand with mine.
“I know about the illegal ring, but no, I’m not fighting in it.” He pinned me with a stare. “Something else is weighing on you.”
“You’re astute.”
